


Adjustment

by strawberriesandtophats



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Slice of Life, change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-19
Updated: 2016-03-19
Packaged: 2018-05-27 13:56:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6287314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberriesandtophats/pseuds/strawberriesandtophats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes having Nick around was downright comforting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Adjustment

Not all change was sudden and life altering, most of it was gradual and managed to slip into life without much notice.  
Officer Judy Hopps brushed some leaves off her uniform, which was still so new that the top part was stiff and the light blue material of her work shirts hadn’t had the chance to become worn yet despite being used every day. She looked around the street, the habit of searching for criminals (and illegal parking) already seeping into her daily routine.

Officer Wilde walked beside her, aviator glasses in place and sipping latte like he’d never done anything else. Judy saw the faint smile on his face as he nodded at her, confirming that for once, no one was breaking the law in their presence.  
There were days when having Nick around was downright comforting. Gentle banter throughout the day both over paperwork and on patrol was a steady presence and by now she was accustomed to his every mood and most of his jokes.  
They continued walking down the street at a casual pace, and Judy knew that he was slowing down slightly so that she could keep up with him without thinking about it as she was still limping slightly as her leg hadn’t had the chance to heal completely yet. They were still busy dealing with the mountain of paperwork concerning the Nighthowler case and usually spent their time on patrol in between cases which undoubtedly helped speed up the recovery process. Judy looked straight ahead, focusing on the fact that they only had to get back to the station and clock out before heading home. She ignored the swish of Nick’s tail behind her as they walked through the crowd of animals leaving the city central to go back home.

People moved out of the way when they saw her and Officer Wilde walking down the road in their uniforms. Judy’s ears twitched as she listened to the way all kinds of animals subtly moved in a slightly wider circle to accommodate them or downright took several steps away from them.  
Having grown up on a farm and surrounded by the constant onslaught of her siblings, Judy was accustomed to having to make way for others based on sheer instinct. She knew that Nick was used to slinking around and taking shortcuts in his former life and still did it when he was absent-minded or stressed. 

A part of it was the fact that they were on many of the recruitment posters and had received quite some attention from the media after the Nighthowler case as well as the fact that they were natural enemies who were behaving friendly towards each other. In a city like Zootopia, this wasn’t all that unusual, but still something that people would notice if their eyes lingered on the two police officers.  
It was nice to share the attention with someone else, especially after having to endure having been a meter maid and having to deal with all sorts of insults and negative feedback.

The station had become familiar as well, a part of her daily life. The bunny hurried towards the locker room, which was completely empty as most of the other officers had either left for the day or had already arrived for the night shift.  
Judy changed out of her uniform and into her civilian clothes after a quick shower, stuffing the blue shirt into her laundry bag and hoisting it over her shoulder. Taking a shower in the station changing room was far better than having to go to the public baths or dragging the emergency basin out of her cramped closet, fill it with water from the electric kettle she had found in a discount store and wash herself with a bar of soap.  
Just a few more months, she told herself as she groomed her fur on her way out of the locker room, and then she would be able to get an apartment with her own kitchenette and a bathroom with a shower. 

Nick was standing in front of the station, looking at ease with the world. Today had been a good day, a mix of paperwork and patrols and although it wasn’t very exiting it was good to be able to get to know the job and the city better.  
“Heading home, Carrots?” Nick asked, grinning at her.

“Got to rest before I take the next shift,” Judy replied, tugging at her shirt to make it sit right. “I have this newbie co-worker that I’ve trained to make me coffee for me in exchange for blueberry muffins.”

“How did they ever manage without us?” Nick wondered, poking her in the shoulder as they began walking the short distance they had in common before heading in different directions.

“Sheer determination, good bureaucracy,” Judy said, “and having Clawhauser around probably helped a lot.”

“Yeah,” Nick said, gesturing theatrically between the two of them, “but we’re their secret weapon.”

Judy looked at him and at the smirk on his face for a long moment. Nick’s entire casual wardrobe seemed to consist of faded shirts and the sort of pants that went with everything. The fabric of Nick’s favorite green shirt was soft and worn and it brushed against her as they walked.  
“Animals that wouldn’t want to approach some of the more intimidating members of the police force will talk to us,” Nick continued, looking rather smug. “Foxes see another fox and decide that someone might actually believe them for once and we can get into places that others literally cannot adapt to or fit into.”

“But they try to bribe us more, usually with coffee or food,” Judy reasoned, “but they tend to talk anyway when we refuse. Just because they might not be as scared of us as many of the others-“

“Judy, we show up at 6 o’clock every morning and do so much work that I heard Chief Bogo say that at the rate we were going they didn’t need nearly as much backup as they thought they would. And we do the paperwork-“

“Even if we are good at our jobs, Nick, that doesn’t mean that we are going to run the station one day-“Judy said, noticing the gleam in Nick’s eyes. “I think that you’re dreaming before you hit your pillow.”

“Well, at least we’ll crack a few big cases, right, Carrots?” Nick said, elbowing her gently in the side. “And if we’re lucky, we’ll keep doing that for a long, long time. We’ve got to have dreams to aspire to.”

“Yeah,” Judy said, “see you tomorrow, Nick.”

She began walking towards her apartment building, listening to Nick’s footsteps fading away, drowned in the sea of city noises.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to try out an introspective piece.


End file.
